Perks of Having a Badass, Assassin Boyfriend
by ElReyCiervo
Summary: When Jesse woke up that morning, being strapped to a chair bleeding and bruised in some Talon hideout in Numbani was not the way he thought today was going to play out. [OR] Hanzo comes to the rescue with his dragons, Soba and Udon. (cover image from Dilfosaur on tumblr)


Disclaimer: I do not own Overwatch

Warnings: language, violence, mentions of human trafficking, mild gore.

I'm very proud to present my first Overwatch fic! I blame Dilfosaur for being an awesome person and making such amazing art—this fic was supposed to be like 2 or 3K max, but it ended up being _over 9k_ long.

 **Edit (7/7/18)** : a kind reviewer informed me that DVa's name, when spelled with a period like in the original version, was not shown in the fic. (Thanks FF, ugh.) SO I have gone and updated her name to be spelled without the period, spelled as DVa. It should work now!

* * *

Perks of Having a Badass, Assassin Boyfriend

When Jesse woke up that morning, being strapped to a chair bleeding and bruised in some Talon hideout in Numbani was **not** the way he thought today was going to play out. On top of that, looking at a slightly concussed DVa, a bruised Lúcio, and a delimbed and sparking Genji, he knew they were up shit's creek without a paddle, as much as he hated to admit it.

"I'm actually surprised this worked as well as it did," Generic Talon Soldier #1 on his left sneered at him, walking out of the dark corner of the storage area like some kind of vampire wannabe. "A few spies here, a few beautifully made pieces of equipment by Ms. Sombra there," he threw a grin to the device that was attached to a swearing Genji's neck, "and everything worked just as we wanted."

Jesse flipped the sweaty hair out of his face, and when the soldier stepped closer to him, he spat in his face. He smirked, "If you think we're gonna talk, you got another thing comin', _pal_."

He did not expect for the man to just wipe his cheek and bare his teeth at him in response in a mockery of a grin. "We're not after you, oh no. We couldn't care less. The one missing is the one we want."

Hanzo.

Fuck.

* * *

" _Agent McCree, you have a message from Agent Winston_."

"…I know, Athena."

" _You have been ignoring it for the past five minutes and thirty-six seconds. I highly recommend that you answer your communicator, Agent McCree._ "

" _Thank you_ , Athena," Jesse groaned, keeping his voice just on this side of polite.

It was early in the morning when they received a summons from Winston. Now, on a normal occassion Jesse wouldn't have minded getting handed a mission, giving him an excuse to stretch his legs out of the Gibraltar base, but he was just too damn comfortable in this bed. He felt loose and sleepy, and the warm blankets and body next to him were not helping his case.

Fortune was not in his favor because Athena knew just what— or rather who— to contact to get him motivated. " _I am afraid that if you do not respond to the summons, I will have to alert Agent Shimada, Agent McCree."_ There was no question as to which Shimada she was threatening him with. An exhausted and grumpy Hanzo was more dangerous than any Talon agent Jesse had ever come across.

In order not to wake up Hanzo immediately, Jesse swallowed the irritated groan that wanted to escape him and rolled over to snatch his communicator from the bedside table with his flesh arm. Squinting at the light from the screen that stung his still tired eyes, he read through the short message Winston had sent them: _I have a mission for you and along with Hana, Lúcio, Genji, and Hanzo. Please meet in the kitchen as soon as possible. I will discuss details over breakfast._

He supposed he was lucky that he would at least get some food before having to depart.

Although it took the messy-haired cowboy longer than Athena would have liked to pry himself from the bed, he finally managed it after grabbing his prosthetic and attaching it in place. He then wrapped a blanket around himself like a cape to ward off the chill lingering in the room. _Time to wake the sleeping dragon_ , he thought as he turned his head and stared at Hanzo's resting face. It was rare that he woke up before Hanzo, what with the archer waking up at practically the asscrack of dawn every morning, but Jesse was aware that Hanzo had a long intel mission that ended just last night. While he knew the man was used to abnormal hours of sleep, he wondered why Winston would want Hanzo on this mission just after finishing one.

He gently prodded the other man's bare shoulder. "Hey, Han, you gotta wake up."

A grumble was his response in addition to Hanzo pressing his face deeper into his pillow. God, he was like a cat. A really handsome, snarky, dangerous cat that Jesse loved.

He rolled his eyes, giving Hanzo's shoulder a heavier shake. "I know you're tired Han, but we gotta get up now." He felt more than saw the deep sigh that escaped Hanzo's body. That, coupled with the narrowed eyes that glared at him, conveyed the deepest feeling of displeasure. The effect was ruined by the stay hairs that had escaped the ponytail of his undercut he forgot to undo before going to bed, the sleep still in his eyes, and the pillow creases that had stamped themselves onto his face. Jesse loved and took pride in the fact that he was the only one to see the normally neat, groomed, and put-together Shimada head look like one of those ancient McDonald's troll dolls—not that he would ever tell his Hanners that.

"Give me one reason why I must leave the comfort of this bed. Am I not mistaken in remembering that I requested not to be bothered so early this morning?"

Jesse patted the other's hip with his blanket-covered prosthetic. To be fair, he couldn't fault Hanzo; even without looking at his holoclock, he knew it was well before sunup. "No, you're not, but boss man wants us up for a mission debrief ASAP."

Although it was not directed at Jesse, Hanzo's look was something that could both kill a person and curdle milk simultaneously. "...I just completed a mission last night," he groused.

As if on cue, Athena sounded from the ceiling above them. " _I have made a similar statement to Agent McCree, but if I must, I have to inform you that I will be contacting the other Agent Shimada, Agent Hanzo._ "

It was like watching a balloon both deflate and a porcupine puff up its quills. The only other person that could get Hanzo moving (in a non-medical emergency) other than Jesse was his brother. They both knew that the younger Shimada was a force to be reckoned with when he was determined, and Genji was always determined when it came to missions, a trait both the brothers had.

Plus, the little shit took a vindictive pleasure in pestering Hanzo on the rare occasion the older man did not want to wake up.

Weariness was audible in Hanzo's voice as he slumped in the bed and replied to Athena, "There is no need. We will be up shortly, I can assure you."

It was odd to hear an AI sound pleased, but the light, mechanical tinny in her voice made it very apparent. " _I will inform Agent Winston of such. Thank you, Agents McCree and Shimada_."

A freezing cold shower later and the two men found themselves in the kitchen surrounded by their equally tired friends. Sitting on the stool at the counter sipping on his cup of coffee, Jesse looked around. At the fridge, Hana looked like the personification of wide awake yet not entirely present. He hoped her insomnia did not act up last night, the poor girl. Next to her, Lúcio looked marginally better as he sat on the opposite counter from Jesse and munched on a few apple slices. He figured the younger man would be bouncing with his typical energy as the day progressed. Next to Hanzo, whom Jesse was aware not to speak to until he'd finished at least some of his tea and _nattō_ with rice, Genji looked the worse of all. The cyborg leaned heavily over the counter looking like he wanted his anime t-shirt to swallow him whole. Eyes closed, his head kept bobbing over his bowl of what looked to be extra sugary cereal, at least from the five torn open sugar packets around him. Genji had told him a while ago that his sense of taste was dulled due to a combination of synthetic parts and some weird fluid thing Jesse couldn't remember the name of. Because of this, the cyborg tended to eat foods in the extremes: sugary, spicy, salty, etc. Though, Jesse knew for certain that those extra sugar packets were his attempt to try and wake the hell up. They didn't seem to be working.

All of them were the antithesis to Winston's chipper and energized demeanor and tried hard not to hate the scientist for it at the moment.

Winston cleared his throat, gathering all of their attention. "Thank you all for coming! I know it is quite early this morning," a snort from someone did not stop him, "but I received intel not long ago that Talon is planning an operation in Numbani."

"That's great, Winston," Hana murmured as she sat down at the counter next to Lúcio who passed her the sugar, "but just tell us why we're here, please. I wanna see if I can squeeze in a nap."

"You just got up," the DJ countered.

"That's the point."

Winston pressed something on his datapad which pinged something on all of theirs. Looking down at his, Jesse opened the new folder that read _'Numbani Intel and Ambush Operation'_. At times like this, he missed that days of the creatively worded mission titles that Reyes used to come up with. Pictures of several Numbani streets, transport routes, and other details popped on the screen. The scientist continued, "During the night, Athena picked up irregular activity in Numbani's trade-and-business district. When I investigated it, I discovered that there have been important parts gone missing."

Jesse hummed, taking another sip of his coffee. "Well, if it's jus' parts, why can't the police handle it? Pretty sure a five-man team is a lil' overkill for somethin' like this."

"If it were just that, I would have to agree with you McCree," Winston said. "Though, I am afraid that is not the case. The parts being stolen are advanced hard light technology from Vishkar that were on route to Numbani's top scientology research facility. In addition, there have been reports of people going missing around the district."

 _That_ grabbed their attention, all of them sitting up in their respective seats. "Human trafficking," Hanzo stated, the tea appearing to have woken him up just enough. He clenched his _World's-Okayest-Brother_ mug in his hands, a gag gift that Genji had got him last Christmas. (1) "I assume they are using civilians as either bargaining pieces for the technology or kidnapping them to use as laborers to keep their own bloody hands clean. Disgusting."

After a mouthful of cereal, Genji asked, "What do you want us to do, Winston? If there are civilians involved, this mission cannot be as simple as a sting to end the operation."

"That is correct, Genji. If this were any other operation, I wouldn't hesitate in allowing you all to just demolish the Talon base there. However, this mission is going to require a more delicate touch for the first part. That is where you, Hanzo, and McCree will come in handy. I know you all are skilled in infiltration and the like." It was a well-known fact that Blackwatch's specialty had been the dirtier ops, and everyone knew that the two Shimadas were literal ninjas skilled in that sort of stuff. "DVa and Lúcio are along in order to gain experience with the first portion of the mission, but they are critical for the second part as a tank and healer, respectively. It will be a two-part operation, information gathering and assault. I need all of you to gather whatever intel you can and act accordingly. There is a base on the outskirts of the district, which you can see on the map on your datapads…"

They further discussed the details over their breakfast, relaying different strategies and methods that could work best. With the important debrief out of the way, Jesse was able to sit back and observe his friends as he enjoyed the bacon and eggs that had been pushed in front of him, courtesy of Lúcio who had taken it upon himself to make actual hot food. The iced mocha whatever-the-hell that Hana had pulled from the fridge earlier seemed to have done just the trick as she was now talking a mile a minute about something on her phone to Winston. Lúcio had put his earbuds in at his place at the stove, bopping his head to the beat he was listening to. Hanzo was much more pleasant after his tea and food, the only irritation radiating from him stemmed from his two dragons trying to get scraps of food from everyone. Coupled with his cup of coffee and seeing his friends and partner relaxed and calm, Jesse felt happy on this rare occasion. Nobody was injured, nobody was dying, and no one seemed to have had a rough night of nightmares.

This was good, to say the last.

"Aww, you're so cute!" He looked over to see Hana offering pieces of her fruit to the two glowing noodles that were curling around her. "Want some mango? You guys look hungry!"

Hanzo made a stern noise next to him and called out to Hana. "As hungry as they are, do not feed them. They are gluttonous and should not be begging for food right now." Jesse couldn't help but chuckle because the last part of his statement almost sounded like he was scolding his dragons.

At Hanzo's remark, Genji looked up sharply to Jesse's surprise. He looked at Hanzo with a peculiar expression, something that confused Jesse. _Is it about feedin' the noodles? Does Hanzo jus' not want them to get fat or something?_

Jesse turned his attention back to Hanzo. Although he had a crease in his brow after getting the dragons to stop begging for food, he seemed...almost excited? His partner was swiping through the mission details on his datapad with a swiftness Jesse had only seen him do with a favored book of poetry or philosophy. In fact, as he looked closer at one of Hanzo's prosthetic legs tapping against the metal of the stool, Jesse could sense an energy around him that was more characteristic of Hana's rabbit-energized nature.

" _Anija_ ," Genji said lowly, voice raised just enough that Jesse could hear as he was sitting next to the two brothers. His eyes tracked the dragon spirits (that were now hovering over Lúcio's pan of bacon) and then back to him, "you seem… _enthusiastic_ this morning."

It was only thanks to dating the man for as long as he had that Jesse was able to translate the sliver of teeth that peeked from Hanzo's quirked lips was his version of a full-on grin. "I have been rather inactive as of late. Training only helps but so much." He huffed a breath, a laugh that Genji did not share. "Intelligence gathering is rather mundane, so I can attest that, yes, I am looking forward to carrying forth this mission."

Right after saying this, a yelp came from the other side of the kitchen from Winston as Jesse stared at the dragons snatch a banana right out of Winston's hand. "Damn, Hanzo," he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "Ever feed those lil' guys?"

Voice gruffer than normal, Hanzo called his spirit dragons back to him. "Soba, Udon, that is enough for today!" With that, the two noodles zipped back to Hanzo and wrapped themselves around his arm, sinking into his skin. Eyes briefly still backlit with blue energy, Hanzo directed his voice to the sulking scientist. "My apologies, Winston. I was not aware they would cause trouble this morning."

"That's alright," Winston smiled, already grabbing another banana. "No harm done. They just startled me is all."

After that, the others in the kitchen carried on normally, all but Genji. "Hanzo," he leaned closer to his brother, adjusting himself to look casual in order not to draw attention from Winston, Hana, or Lúcio. It could have been his imagination, but Jesse could have sworn that the younger Shimada made eye contact with him before turning to his brother. "You and your dragons are restless." It wasn't a question.

Another swift swipe of a finger through the mission details. "We are, but we are okay."

Jesse took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee as he tried to appear like he wasn't listening to their conversation with too much interest. The warning in Genji's next statement, however, made him lean just a bit closer. If the brothers took any note that he was being nosy, they didn't say. " _Anija_ , I am not blind. You must be careful—your dragons are influencing you more than I know you are comfortable with." (2) He pointed his dripping spoon at the tattoo wrapped around Hanzo's arm.

 _Now what the hell does that mean?_ Just as Jesse was about to break his unconvincing ruse and ask Genji to explain himself, Hanzo stood from his seat, dishes in one hand and datapad in the other. After he deposited his dishes in the sink to wash them later, he turned to the two of them. "Do not fret, Genji. I will be fine, and I am certain our mission will go smoothly. If anything goes awry, I promise to handle the situation accordingly," Hanzo smirked, but it was one that made the hairs on Jesse's arm stand up on end. The only other time he remembered seeing Hanzo nearly this eager for a fight was in retribution for their ruined date that ended up in a shootout at the back of a 7-11. (3)

Although waving at Hanzo as he left, the others did not notice the tense air that rolled off him.

The moment he lost sight of Hanzo down the hallway, he spun in his swivel stool to Genji. "Should I be worried that Han looks like he wants to eat all those Talon goons for breakfast?" It was only looking at his friend's face, now, that he was thrown off by the blatant concern in his brown eyes that followed Hanzo and the teeth that were working his dark, synthetic bottom lip. "…Genji?" he nudged the other's hand with his mug.

Genji's eyes snapped to Jesse's, and the cowboy was thrown for surprise when his friend grabbed his denim-clad knee with a strong grip. "Jesse, you are my best friend. You are aware of this, right?" he asked like he was it was the most important detail in the world.

"Yeah, Gen," he blinked at the fervor of the question, "o-of course. What's wrong?"

The grip became tighter, just shy of painful, but Jesse knew that Genji wasn't trying to hurt him. That made something in his stomach turn uncomfortably because he knew the cyborg was always aware of the amount of strength he used. "You are the only person I can trust with this, so I need you to promise me something."

He swallowed. "You're makin' a fella worried now, Genji. What's goin' on?"

"If the occasion comes around where I cannot do so myself, I need you to watch over Hanzo for me on this mission. Please," he added with a softer note, though worried all the same. He wouldn't call it desperate, because although Genji was a _yakuza_ prince no longer, Jesse knew it was engrained in him that a Shimada did not beg. Hanzo was the same. "It is important."

"Does it have anythin' to do with them dragons o' his and what you said about them influencin' him or whatnot?"

If this were any other situation, his sleepy-faced 35 year-old friend wearing an anime t-shirt and sporting a sugary milk-mustache on top of his own scarred and scraggly mustache would be something that would amuse Jesse to no end. Right now, on the other hand, all those details belied that fact that Genji seemed like he was about to sprout some gray hairs from stress. He leaned into Jesse's space, waving his phone with his empty hand to give the appearance of casual conversation to the others when they threw a cursory glance in their direction. "There is a reason we are trained so strictly in our youth," he frowned. "The dragons are ancient spirits, powerful beyond human fathom. Only a Shimada can host," Jesse was quick to note the word choice, "the dragons, though not without consequences."

"Doesn't sound too bad so far…"

Genji pinched his thigh. "It is not a well-known detail, and my brother would hate me telling the 'secrets of the family' or some crap like that, but we are essentially conduits for our dragons. We may use their power, but they are beings older than us. Sometimes, we are…weak to their influences."

'Weak' and 'Hanzo' or 'Genji' did not fit together in the same sentence. "Has anything like that happened before?"

Genji sighed, looking tired in more ways than one. He got up and jerked his head to follow him, both of the putting their dirty dishes in the sink along with Hanzo's. Their friends waved them off like they had done with Hanzo earlier. It was only until Genji had led them towards the residential section of the base, far away from the others, that he spoke again. "You knew me in Blackwatch, Jesse," he said, body slumping against the wall just outside his room. The former Deadlock member new just how far Genji had come since those days, and it seemed brining up those details now were just draining to his friend.

"Yeah, well, we did run almost every op we were assigned together," he tried for a laugh.

He succeeded as Genji gave a weary laugh of his own, crossing his arms over his chest. "If I was any amount of the man I am now back then, I would have told you how much I appreciated you being my teammate." His amused tone withered away into something more pessimistic. "As such, I am sure you remember just how…effective I was on missions, right?"

Memories of a black and red cyborg dashing madly through their enemies with shuriken at the ready and dripping _wakizashi_ in hand. He had been a machine of war, Jesse hated to admit, only made deadlier by the writhing green dragon that had emerged from his _katana_ to destroy anything in its path. "Yes."

"I was not always myself," the admittance sounded something similar to shame, which sounded terrible coming from Genji, "back then. Pain, hate, anger— _fury_ to be more accurate—were the perfect things to erode what little restraint I had. To give you an example, the last mission I went on—"

"The one to dismantle your family." That was the angriest and most lethal he'd ever seen Genji during his time in Blackwatch. There was a growing feeling of unease in Jesse's chest.

He nodded. "…I was not myself," he repeated.

The sudden revelation left him out of breath. The fury from the cyborg that had burned inside the castle, the pictures of half-devoured and ravaged corpses that had looked like an animal got to them which Reyes had hid from Overwatch's gleaming eyes, the blood that had streaked the walls and floors all over the castle—it made more sense now, as did Genji's battle cry of _'The Dragon becomes me!'_. "That…that wasn't all you, was it." He didn't ask.

Genji shook his head. He straightened up from the wall, entering the password for his door lock. He raised his head to look at Jesse. "Although Hanzo is not in that same situation as I was, the restlessness of his dragons is affecting him, I can tell. Ramen affected me in a similar way, back then. If something happens on this mission to trigger their ruthlessness, I'm afraid that they might overcome Hanzo, despite his training."

"I'll look after him, I promise."

The smile on Genji's scarred face was mix of relieved and happy. "Thank you."

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple mission, and by all means, it had been going just that way through day one. They had gotten the intel they needed without much of a hassle: Hana and Lúcio posing as graduate students looking for some quick money, Hanzo posturing himself as Hana's uncle trying to desperately find his niece a job, Jesse acting as Lúcio's distant cousin also trying to get him a job, and Genji wandering around the omnic cafes disguised as a new resident of the Numbani Omnic, Cyborg, and Augmented community who needed a job for repairs. All in all, it had taken them less than a full day to get what they needed.

As it had turned out, Talon's prime target was young people searching for jobs, like Hana and Lúcio had disguised themselves as. During the night, the team had donned their gear, ready to carry out the second phase of their mission: dismantling the Talon base, stopping them from obtaining any more tech, and rescuing the people that had been kidnapped.

Hanzo had went ahead to infiltrate the storage area in the Talon base, silently picking off any enemies he came across as he made his way to rescue the hostages. As Jesse and Lúcio had snuck in through one of the side entrances that their intel had informed them was the way to the boss of the Talon op, the cowboy had known he wouldn't have to worry about the archer. His concern had went more towards their healer and their tank, but he had known that Genji would take care of their young Korean soldier. He had brushed off the nerves that had been pestering him since the start of the mission, assuming it was worry about their younger teammates.

He fucking wished he had listened to his gut.

In a ridiculous stroke of bad luck, it had turned out that every single person they had talked to—the cashier at the convenience store that had told Hana and Lúcio about the 'part-time' job they could do since they just graduated, the man at the market that had informed Jesse about the 'freelance' work his cousin could do, the woman at the tea shop that slid Hanzo contact info for available positions at a 'firm' that hired fresh graduates, and the omnic server at the café that had told Genji about an omnic-friendly 'place' that hired same-day—had been paid off by Talon. All the info that had received had been stage, which lead up to their _own_ ambush when they infiltrated the Talon base.

Talon had incapacitated them not even a full ten minutes in. Jesse had been swarmed by grunts, prosthetic deactivated and removed, and restrained, weapons and gear taken away. When Hana had been about to use her recall device for her mech, it had been shot out of her hand and she had been slammed over the head with the butt of a gun, resulting in head trauma. Lúcio, for all his effort, had been overwhelmed like Jesse and had received his own fair share of punches, Sonic Amplifier and other sound equipment stolen from him. What had been the most troubling was how quickly they had rendered Genji, their resident trained ninja, ineffective. When the cyborg had diverted his attention to help his teammates, one of the soldiers had shot some kind of hacking bug to his neck, infecting him with a virus, thus allowing the others to tear off his limbs and snatch up _Ryū-Ichimonji_ and his _wakizashi_ (4). His inarticulate, multi-layered scream had been something Jesse hadn't heard since Genji's earliest days in his cyberization process.

So yeah, all of this shit-show turn of events was not on Jesse's to-do-list when he woke up this morning.

"You know, for someone with a bounty as high as yours and for people working for a supposable powerful organization like Overwatch," Generic Talon Soldier #2 with a buzzcut mocked as she leered, idly twirling Peacekeeper in her manicured hands, "you all were quite easy to capture."

"Fuck off."

Overweight Talon Soldier #3 laughed and nudged his equally rotund buddy. "Picture of manners, this one."

The man whose face Jesse had spat in earlier walked towards the Overwatch agents, taking in their busted-up appearances before stopping right in front of him. "As I said before, McCree, we have no interest in you lot. Though," he exaggerated tapping his chin and swiveling his gaze over to Genji, "the younger Shimada was most certainly a _bonus_. Ms. Sombra has taken a liking to the war machine Overwatch has on their hands." As if triggered by the mention of the hacker, a harsh crackle of electricity arced from the device to one of Genji's ports, making him swear a garbled string of Japanese insults (ones Jesse could decipher only from them being pointed at him during their shared time in Blackwatch). Sans his helmet, which one of the soldiers had decided to relieve him of just for shits and giggles, his clenched jaw looked like it had enough tension to bite through steel.

"…Y-You'll not..s'cced tod'y," came the slurred response from Genji. An uncomfortable feeling of worry tugged at Jesse in knowing that the device was slowly but steadily affecting the ninja. Whatever virus that was contaminating him, it was fucking up him up on a major level if the loss in coherency was anything to go by.

Despite her concussion, DVa was able to give a sharp, semi-coherent shout. "Leave Genji 'lone, bastards!" She tried to wriggle out of one of the soldier's hold, to no avail. To be honest, Jesse didn't know how she was still conscious with that heavy blow to her head. He was, though, relieved that no one hit her (again) in retaliation like one of the guys he eyed seemed to be thinking about. Instead, the Talon grunts laughed.

"As I said, girlie," the Generic Talon Soldier #1 (now upgraded to Asshole Honcho as he seemed to be the one running things) rolled his eyes, " _that_ one is our bonus today. The real one we want is the elder Shimada, Hanzo. Like Ms. Sombra with the war machine over there, Mr. Ogundimu has expressed his own interest in your archer and is looking forward to him coming into the fold."

A flicker of light from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he jerked against his binds when he realized when of the Talon grunts, this one with a greasy mohawk, nabbed his communicator, the metal glinting in the shitty light. Greasy Mohawk Man chucked his communicator at Asshole Honcho, who plucked it out the air with ease. "Quit touchin' my shit!"

"Don't fret McCree, we won't be needing it for much longer, Now, speaking of Hanzo Shimada," Asshole Honcho's gapped teeth gleamed in the florescent light of the building, "I think it's about time that we call him to this little party."

The other protest on his lips died when he heard his communicator click on in the sudden silence of the building. Hanzo's voice, slightly out of breath, rang out clearly, " _McCree, I have successfully eliminated the guards that were posted at the storage area and escorted the hostages to safety. Shall I meet you—_ "

"Good evening, Mr. Shimada. How good to hear your voice," Asshole Honcho cut him off as he walked a slow circle around the bound Overwatch agents, taking joy in watching each of their angry expressions.

There was a heavy pause before they heard Hanzo growl, "… _Who are you_?" If the ice in his voice could be transferred through audio, Asshole Honcho's head would have well been frozen over.

A chuckle. "Who I am is unimportant to this situation. It is more what I can do that should concern you. You see, we have your friends," here the soldiers took glee in jabbing Jesse, Hana, and Lucio with the muzzle if their rifles, and the two younger agents couldn't hold in their shouts, "and your brother," and this time one of the Talon goons kicked Genji's side, causing him to choke out a yell of his own, "and we aren't afraid to use them as collateral."

"I'd suggest you come quick," Generic Talon Soldier #2 called out, Peacekeeper still in her grubby hands, "your friends are looking _prettyyy_ rough!"

"Don't listen to them, Hanzo!" Jesse shouted. "They wanna git you n' Gen— _argh_!" He doubled over when Greasy Mohawk Man socked him right in the stomach, leaving him wheezing.

" _You will_ _ **regre**_ _t every course of action you have committed when I arrive. Mark. My. Words._ "

The transmission cut off.

Their need having been satisfied, Asshole Honcho snapped Jesse's communicator between his hands before chucking the pieces somewhere out of sight. He hopped on the top of a crate and crossed his legs, the pose making him look like he would be more at home at a Sunday brunch that at a terrorist organization's illegal base. He brought up a hand to his face, inspecting the nails visible from his fingerless gloves. In a tone that was more observant than before, he raised his voice to make sure all of them could hear, "You know, Talon is aware just how ruthless Hanzo Shimada is—deadly, remorseless, and…intuitive. A man who knows he wants with a bloody trail behind him more than a mile long. Someone that Mr. Ogundimu is aware that Talon can both use…and _help_."

Even behind the dim glow of his lime-tinted visor, Jesse could see Lúcio's fiery glare from here. "Hanzo would never betray us for you clowns!" It made Jesse feel reassured that their teammates didn't look down on Hanzo as Talon basically started airing his dirty laundry. Hanzo was one who liked to keep his business private, especially the darker details of his past as an assassin.

"Oh, we are very aware of that fact," Asshole Honcho agreed, now inspecting the seams of his gloves for any tears. "While he may never willingly leave you all to come to us, it is incredibly probable that he would indeed hand himself over for the people he cares about."

What made that sting was that it was all true.

The next thing he said was what really made Jesse want to be sick.

"Hmph, who know? Our scientist might even improve him with the Widowmaker program, too!"

It was as if those words were the bomb that set everybody off. DVa, as hard as she struggled couldn't get away from the soldiers that were restraining her, the concussion making her even more dazed and delirious. Lúcio, quick as his frog motif, was able to shock the grunts with his speed with his leap towards the man sitting on the crate, but was tackled down before he could strike. Genji tried to inch himself closer, to do at least something, but could only shift uselessly from his spot propped up against the wall near DVa. _Don't_ _ **touch**_ _my damn teammates!_ The sharpshooter writhed in his chair, desperate to try and make some kind of slack to get loose.

 _Hanzo, don't come! Don't come!_

The lights began to flicker on and off.

The commotion from both the Overwatch agents and the Talon soldiers died down as they watched the lights, and now other electrics in the facility, spark and short. The red emergency lights flicked to life in between the sporadic dying and rebooting of the main lights. In addition to the scent of ozone tinging the air, there was something else, something sharp and static, that was making the air of his flash arm stand on end. The fleeting thought came to him that this was some kind of Talon ploy to throw them off, but that was immediately banished as he watched his enemies tense up and grip their weapons tighter.

He startled when Genji burst into sudden laughter.

Everyone looked at the delimbed cyborg who had his head thrown back, laughter almost morphing into a cackle. "Haha, you'll…regr't it now! The, _hahaha_ , the…South…the South is c'miiiing!"

"What the fuck does that mean, you damn freak?" Generic Talon Soldier #2 scowled as she sauntered in front of him. She crouched down to grip his jaw between her fingers, pissed off even more when he grinned.

He just continued to laugh, sounding unnervingly unhinged, and Jesse was worried about just how close that virus is to frying his friend's brain. "The Drag'n of, _uuugh_ , the…the South is c'miiiing….c'ming to…to _kill_ yooou!" He didn't stop, even after the woman became angry enough to backhand him across the face.

The indignant shout from Lúcio was drowned out by Jesse's thoughts (or that combined with the sound of his blood rushing). _The South—The Dragon of the South…_ He remembered the tale of the _Two Dragon Brothers_ told to him by both Genji and Hanzo on separate occasions, recalling that that the two main characters were the Dragon of the North Wind and the Dragon of the South Wind. At the time, he thought it was just a story that was passed down in their family, but after what he was told by Genji earlier and what he was saying now…He realized that the tale about the Dragons and the Shimadas _might_ have a grain of truth in them.

The sound of footsteps, made purposefully heavy, echoed throughout the building.

Hearing those familiar footsteps, metal prosthesis sounding against the metal floor in a pattern he knew all too well, he chanted a litany of _no_ 's under his breath. It was at this exact moment that Jesse was scared that his promise to Genji was about to become a lie.

What he did not expect was two scatter arrows hitting the ground right in front of him and the ground next to him, splitting and ricocheting to hit each of the soldiers' hands that held a gun. Shouts of pain and surprise erupted from the Talon soldiers as they reflexively held their hands, and it was in that split second that Lúcio was able to get away. He dropped to the ground as he balanced on his hands, swiping his legs in a spin that knocked the soldiers away from him. Using the momentum of the kick, he rolled over to where Talon had confiscated all of their gear and snatched his Sonic Amplifier and aimed it at the nearest soldier. "You're not getting Hanzo or Genji. Not if I can help it," he promised, arm unwavering and glare fierce.

Before any of the Talon soldiers could respond, a voice echoed throughout the building. "Do not worry, Lúcio. They will not be a problem for us any longer."

Jesse heard the voice before he saw anything, and thus whipped his head in the direction he heard it come from. If the lights were on the fritz before, they died for good now which triggered the red emergency lights to bathe the area. The holos and other electrical devices also died. With the main lights gone, it was easy to see Hanzo stepping into the area: his irises were alight with power and his dragons were illuminating the area in white-blue light as they trailed behind him. He came to a stop a few feet short of Jesse and the other agents, his quiver and Stormbow strapped to his back. Soba and Udon had ceased their trail behind him and were now circling around him.

Jesse had never seen them like this outside of Hanzo summoning them in battle, so he had no way to guess what the fuck was going to happen next.

Those bright eyes met his, arresting his breath and making it catch in his chest. Those eyes softened as they looked at him and then Genji before hardening to steel when they jumped to the Talon solders. In what appeared to be a subconscious move, all the soldiers except Asshole Honcho began to inch their way away from the Overwatch agents as they couldn't look away from the grinning dragons. With their attention diverted away from his teammates, Lúcio creeped closer to DVa, who had been let go, and Genji, who had tipped over from the force of the woman's hit.

"A-Ahh, Mr. Shimada," Asshole Honcho slapped on a grin, still on his perch atop the crate. "We've been waiting for you. We're here to deliver you to Mr. Ogundimu, and as a bonus, your brother to Ms. Sombra. I suggest you cooperate or your friends won't be breathing for much longer."

With a frighteningly calm demeanor, Hanzo wiped the fresh red blood that was leaking from his nose away and took a deep breath. "You know," he began, tone similar to one of someone recounting a tale, "I am a little battered and bruised from killing your associates holding the hostages. I am ashamed to admit it took me as long as it did to be rid of them, considering this was my profession before I agreed to joined Overwatch. Four minutes is much too long to eliminate twenty men." A growl rumbled from one his dragons, shaking anything that was hanging against the walls like thunder.

Smile now gone, Asshole Honcho jumped off his crate, picking up his weapon from the ground. "Talon is aware of your skills. Mr. Ogundimu wants you with us. Talon can help you further hone those skills, can help you reconquer your legacy!" The grin returned, this time smug. "Just _imagine_ , head of the Shimada clan once again, all the money and power at your disposal, with Talon backing you. The only thing in return Talon would want in return would be your…cooperation."

Hanzo did not falter. With a calm voice laced with a cold fury that Jesse knew was deadlier than his hot anger, he said, "You think too much of yourself, assuming I would follow you. You have injured my teammates, dismantled my brother, and beaten my partner. I am not a happy man. Although your men were a minute obstacle, they did get a few hits in, as I have said. You must understand, I cannot afford to lose. It is because of you that I have been pulled taut, and I am tired. As such, my dragons are quite eager to play."

Jesse swallowed hard when Hanzo's deep set face slowly began to change into a wide, toothy grin. _Goddammit Jesse, you should_ _ **not**_ _find him this attractive right now_. He had thought that the Hanzo that had been in the kitchen this morning was eager for a fight. He was wrong.

This Hanzo looked ready to do much worse.

He tipped his head back as he locked gazes with Asshole Honcho, ignoring the fact that one of his dragons coiled closer to him, maw gaping to open around his throat. No one seemed to breath as they watched the dragon spirit drip glowing saliva on his neck and shoulders, afraid that any movement would set off those jaws and behead him. To all of their shock, he seemed to lean closer to the dragons, one hand resting on the first dragon's snout while the other trailed along the second dragon's antlers. (5) "They wish to play, but you see, they grow tired of being entertained with me alone. They know not to overstep their boundaries, but…they are hungry. _We_ ," Hanzo licked away the blood that was still on his lip, eyes glowing to the point where his irises disappeared, "are hungry and angry."

The red haze of the emergency lights was soon swallowed by the brightening glow of the dragons. They uncoiled themselves from around their master, rising up to either side of him with their heads parallel to one another. Their own slit eyes shone a fierce cyan blue as they trained on the enemies; their mouths gaped open at the ready, watering and ravenous; and luminescent saliva dripped from their inches-long fangs. (6) The next words that Jesse heard fall from Hanzo's mouth pretty much damned all their enemies in the room.

"I think it is time we _sate that hunger_."

Quicker than the eye could track, the dragons rushed forward like two cyan bats out of hell. Despite their truly ravenous fury, they were careful not to touch DVa, Lúcio, Genji, or Jesse as they swarmed the Talon soldiers. He only caught a glimpse of the first beginnings of blood spraying before his vision was blocked by a gloved hand. An archery glove. "Hanzo!" he let out a harsh breath as his partner pressed a kiss above his split eyebrow. To say that Jesse was relieved would have been a grave understatement. "Fuck, I thought they were gonna take you 'n' Genji 'way. I would'a been stuck here 'n' wouldn't have been able to do nothin' to stop it." He leaned his face into the hand, sweaty hair pressed against the warm leather.

Even in the face of his assassin partner and said partner's two deadly spirit dragons, Jesse did not feel frightened, but rather protected and safe.

Well, as safe as they could be in a terrorist group's illegal facility.

"McCree, _Jesse_ , I would not have let them get either of us that easily. I would not let them take us away from you," he reassured as he reached down into his boot to pull out the knife he kept stored there. He sliced through his bindings and quickly pulled him to his feet. Jesse's several inches he had on Hanzo let him peer over his partner's head, allowing him a clear line of sight of the dragons still attacking the Talon soldiers. He didn't think he imagined the gushing arm that soared through the air.

Using the opportunity that they had been given, Hanzo tossed Jesse his prosthetic before gathering all of their equipment and Genji's limbs. As Hanzo collected all of their stuff, Jesse reattached his prosthetic arm with a grimace, not having the time to properly reorient the sensors. The ache was negligible in comparison to what they might experience if any Talon backup decided to show their faces.

Now that his arm was reattached and other equipment was strapped to his person, he looked for Peacekeeper while Hanzo handed Lúcio the rest of his gear. That damn woman had been messing with his revolver, so he prayed to God that he was not going to have to fish through whatever mess the dragons were making out of Talon. To his luck, the arm that he'd seen fly in the air had landed not that far from him, and said hand just so happened to still be clutching Peacekeeper. "Ugh," he grimaced as he crouched down to peel the fingers back to take his revolver. As long as he had rolled with the Deadlocks and worked the dirty jobs with Blackwatch, this was gnarly experience all on its own.

"Hey Han!" he called, about to ask if their way was clear to leave. Before he could continue, he heard a particularly loud, wet chomp behind him which was timed with Hanzo unconsciously running his tongue over his canine.

"Yes?"

"Ahhh, n-never mind." He stood up, holstered Peacekeeper, and walked over to his teammates.

As he neared, he watched Lúcio scoop DVa up in his arms, so Jesse decided to remove his _serape_ and drape it over her. She was incredibly pale, the blood dripping from the head wound that her brown hair hid was stark against her skin. Her eyes were upon, pupils blown, though she remained unresponsive. Damn, he hoped Mercy would be able to fix her up right and quick.

" _Anija_ , _Anijaaaa_ ," Genji beamed at Hanzo who was kneeling next to him. Even in the terrible lighting of the red emergency lights, Jesse was quick to catch the older brother's concerned look. The older Shimada's hands hovered over the cyborg, not wanting to make anything worse even as electricity sparked from ripped wires from his limb ports. "You s're shooooowed th'm! T'ld 'em…T'ld 'em that the Drag'n of the S-South was c'miiing, hehe." Hanzo's eyes widened even more.

Before he can ask, Lúcio calmed him, "Talon attached a hacking device to him made by Sombra so there's a virus that's been infecting him. I don't know exactly what it's doing to him, but I know it's making him sound like that."

Hanzo sighed, looking at his brother again, who now let out a moan of pain. "Oh good," he said as he handed Jesse all that he was holding. He picked up Genji, careful not to cause him any more discomfort. "I thought he must have gone off on a drinking spree like in his younger days," his voice was dry though light, even as lubricant and other fluid dripped onto him.

Jesse rearranged all of their stuff—Genji's limbs, his helmet, his _wakizashi_ , _Ryū-Ichimonji_ , DVa's pistol, and her pink communication headphones—as best he could under one arm in order to have one free just in case. Listening to Genji slur out gibberish and groan in pain, he also hoped Mercy and Winston would get that damn thing off of him and fix him up proper.

"C'mon, let's go."

Behind them, the dragons had finally fallen silent.

* * *

They had booked it to their safehouse before they could have run into any trouble. The cover of the dead of night and the short time to get there offered them some security, but it had been cumbersome with two people down, both injured and one missing all of his limbs. It was only when they had closed the doors behind them that they had breathed a sigh of relief. The operation had been mostly successful, despite the ambush on them, and they had learned that Talon was after two of their operatives. The intel wasn't pleasant, but they could worry about that after they returned to the Watchpoint.

Jesse almost, _almost_ cried when he saw the _Orca_ breach the sleepy night sky of Numbani as fast as it did. As it turned out, Hanzo had contacted Winston as soon as the Asshole Honcho had contacted him with Jesse's communicator, which had saved them a good ass chunk of time.

After Lena had flown them to a safe elevation, she called over the speaker, " _ETA 2 hours, loves. Rest up as best you can."_

"Why is it," Angela heaved a heavy sigh at her spot next to Genji, staff alight with a nanite stream that connected to the now unconscious man, "that almost every mission with either Jesse, Hanzo, or Genji turns out with one of you injured?" She had been able to freeze the hacking device's spread of the virus and had stabilized his injuries, but she could not progress further in his repair or its removal until they got to the base.

Jesse felt bad, especially as he took in her sleep-bruised eyes and messy hair which clashed with her clean Valkyrie suit. "I promise we don't do it on purpose, Angie," he offered her the best smile he could, drowsy from Hanzo running his hand through his hair, head on the archer's lap. "Shit jus' kinda happens, ya know?"

Next to Hana, whom Lúcio had stabilized to the best of his abilities outside the med bay, the audio medic laughed. He had treated his own injuries as soon as they had stepped onto the _Orca_ with a biotic field, bruises disappearing in minutes. His audio healing would have taken longer, he had justified at their curious looks. "I don't knooow," he intoned, "I think Angela is kind of right. It's like every time you guys get back, you're always in the med bay for something."

Hanzo rolled his eyes, still petting Jesse's hair, while Jesse couldn't help but groan. "I'm _tellin'_ you, it ain't our faults. Cross m' heart n' hope to die."

A scoff came from Morrison, who had his arms crossed and head tipped against his chest. Jesse knew that behind that crimson visor that the older man had his eyes closed, trying to get some sleep. "Don't make promises you can't keep, McCree."

"You would do well and not die on me, cowboy," Hanzo's voice was wry as he lightly tugged on one of Jesse's brown locks. "We— _I —_ did not go through all of that effort for you to die from a self-hex like that." The resting cowboy would have liked to believe that the man playing with his hair was as calm as his voice sounded, but he knew that wasn't the case. He looked at his face: his eyes had fallen closed, which made the tension in his brow even more apparent; the blood had been cleaned from his face, but his nose was still bruised; and his mouth was pressed in a hard line. From all that he knew about Hanzo, all the nights staying up late passing each other drinks and sharing bits and pieces of their pasts, Jesse was aware that Hanzo was worried about how the others would think of him due to what happened during the mission. Hanzo had lost control over himself, an immaculate control and discipline that he prided himself over, and thus left himself weak to his own dragons' influence. His dragons had not only attacked but _destroyed_ and _devoured_ the Talon soldiers that had captured them, leaving nothing left but red smears.

Jesse reached up his with his flesh hand—he wanted to give his prosthetic arm a rest until Angie could recalibrate the sensors to stop aching so much—to brush away an inky black bang from Hanzo's face. The tired man opened his eyes to meet Jesse's before closing again and kissing his offered palm. They were quiet, last dregs of the adrenaline from their mission melting away as Jesse continuously stroked his thumb over Hanzo's jaw.

They must have zoned out for a bit, because when they reoriented themselves, they realized they had missed part of the conversation.

"—and I remember patching Genji up back in his days with us. He would not mind me saying that he was, and still is, just as effective in battle with his dragon as his brother."

"But oh man, Angela, you should have _seen_ Hanzo!"

Hanzo paused in petting Jesse's hair, eyes snapping back open, and if Jesse were anyone else, he would have assumed that the man had stopped breathing with how still he became.

"For a bit, I thought we weren't going to make it out of there, but this guy strolls in like—what is that movie that you talk about sometimes, Morrison? Oh yeah, _The Terminator!_ —like a Terminator and pretty much cleans house! Him and his dragons are really something else." Lúcio beamed, turning to point a finger-gun at the older man. "With that entrance you made, Hanzo, all like that, you also looked like a villain from one of those cartoons! It was pretty badass, if I do say so myself," Lúcio laughed.

On his lap, Jesse was able to feel the stiffness in Hanzo's posture relax to, safe in the knowledge that his teammates did not think ill of him. "You think me similar to a villain? Well," he hummed, leaning more into Jesse, "it must be the goatee, then."

The laughter that ripped from everyone, even Morrison, was a pleasant sound after the draining mission.

Jesse could have never predicted their mission could have turned out the way it did, but he was glad that he still had his handsome, amazing, badass assassin boyfriend who had come to their rescue. A smirk played on his lips. He'd have to make it up to Hanzo with a good breakfast, a fun date, and an amazing dinner paired with some great _saké_ tomorrow.

Fun time in the sheets would be optional.

* * *

Published: 5/22/18

A/N: Thank you all for reading! Please leave a comment and let me know how I did!

(1) It was a small detail, but I couldn't help but notice it in this pic, haha. (FF doesn't allow for linking, so the image on my bio)

(2) I headcanon that when the dragons get restless, for more reasons than one, their nature begins to influence Hanzo or Genji. Genji has experienced this before.

(3) I mean, how could I not include that date? (images on my bio)

(4) I headcanon that Genji lost his remaining human arm at some point between him leaving Blackwatch and him responding to the Recall.

(5) Based off this image: (image on my bio)

(6) Based off this image: (image on my bio)


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